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I debated long and hard about writing this post. I do throw around my opinion a lot on my blog, but there are certain topics I hesitate to come within any reasonable distance to. Writing tips and media analysis are, for the most part, fairly harmless and not something most people will take offense to. Then there are other topics. Topics like politics, like social issues, like economic issues, etc. Those are topics I don’t like to make any mention of. I have seen how much vitriol comes from talking about them, and it is just something I don’t like to be a part of within a public sphere.

However, the recent incidents with Patreon have made me want to speak up about something. Now, before you click off, I’m not going to talk about what I think of Patreon’s decision with their fees (for those who already know what’s going on). There are literally 100’s of posts already talking at length about this topic. I also don’t care where you chips fall on which side to take; that is your business, and I am not here to convince you that Patreon is a villain/not a villain.

What I do want to convince you of is the cold, unfortunate reality that most for-profit, multi-employee businesses do not care about the creators.

When it comes to older works, writers can often be self-reflective of their own profession. While some works are upfront about the comparison they want to make, other works are more subtle in how they are presented. This is the situation I find to exist in H.G. Wells’ story “A Story of the Days to Come Chapter 1: The Cure for Love”. While there are numerous themes, the story seems to be, at the heart, discussing the power of stories themselves. As always, the following is my interpretation of the tale and not reflective of definitive fact.

“The Tale of a Youth Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was” is perhaps the strangest story yet from Andrew Lang’s The Blue Fairy Book collection. Even the very title suggests that it is a very untypical tale. What would such a story have to teach us? How to fear? How to have courage? Instead, however, the story teaches us a relatively value lesson about ignorance. As per usual, the following is my own interpretation of the piece, and you’re welcome to your own opinions about it.

While we’re all used to typical fairy tales like “Rapunzel” or “Snow White,” there are those out there that really can throw you for a loop with their existence. Today, I found such a tale within Andrew Lang’s The Blue Fairy Book titled “The Yellow Dwarf.” Unlike many tales that try to teach us good morals and how love conquers all, this tale warns us of the follies involved in love and how life is, in a lot of cases, overly complicated. Remember, the following is my own interpretation of the tale. You may take away what you wish from it, as that’s the fun of literature.

Finishing up with “A Story of the Stone Age” by H.G.Wells, “Chapter 4 Uya the Lion” and “Chapter 5 The Fight in the Lion’s Thicket” return to a theme I mentioned earlier: power structures. However, unlike the first chapter where I identified this as being a heavy theme in regards to technology, these chapters focus more on the human effects and the ultimate finite nature of power. As always, the following is my interpretation of the piece; it is in no way inclusive of everything, and you’re welcome to your own opinions.

This week I continued my journey of reading “A Story of the Stone Age” by H.G. Wells. Unlike previous weeks, this week’s chapter, “The First Horseman,” takes a quite differing tone that focuses more on the environment. However, the chapter has a strong message about the dual nature of humanity’s curiosity. As always, the following is my interpretation of the story, and I make no claims to its accuracy; it’s just for fun people.

If you spend any amount of time on the internet, you’ll know one thing is certain: there’s a lot of information on it. Whether it’s mainstream news sites or that fandom forum you hang out in, you’re being bombarded with information on a constant basis anytime you spend even a remote amount of time on the internet. Unfortunately, this brings about another truth: not all that information you see is trustworthy. With each passing year this becomes clearer and clearer, and as wiser people will tell you, it’s up to you to verify the information and the sources. Yet, few people actually explain how this is done. This is not to mention that many people miss discussing the subtle ways that information is manipulated, which is perhaps even more rampant when it comes to misinformation. As such, though I can only cover a few, I would like to give you some of my own tips in evaluating information you see for accuracy. My intent, here, is not to disparage anyone; rather, I only wish to equip everyone with better ideas of what they should look for.

With that said, these are my beginner’s tips for evaluating information.

Continuing on from last week’s post, this week I took a look at “A Story of the Stone Age: Chapter 2 The Cave Bear” by H.G. Wells. Though there are similar gems of technology themes hidden within, the story is more focused on a cave bear and his mate. In so doing, however, the story is allowed to focus on a fear that the previous chapter could not tackle. Remember, as always, this is my own interpretation of the story; you’re allowed to your own opinion, and I make no claims my interpretation is the correct one.

“A Story of the Stone Age: Chapter 1 Ugh-lomi and Uya” is a short story written by H.G. Wells. Though one normally associates H.G. Wells with science fiction about aliens and space, this short story is a vast departure from those common elements. Instead, the story presented focuses on an ancient time and people who could not even fathom such a concept. Yet, in subtle ways, H.G. Wells still shows us within the story how technology played a role even back then. As per usual, the following is my own interpretation, and you are welcome to your own.